Quick question - Career opportunities

[-MaNi-]

Hi all,

I've recently registered for the FRM part 1 exam (also purchased my BT materials) and have been busy getting to grips with everything. I've been wondering if maybe I should have done the CFA exam instead as I would like to follow a career as a financial analyst within a credit rating agency (ratings analyst essentially), however the FRM syllabus was very interesting to me and I'm sure there's relevance with this qualification as well seeing as how CRA's are in the business of measuring credit risk.

So my question is, if I complete the FRM qualification, will it actually be beneficial in trying to secure a position as a financial analyst within a CRA, or was I better off doing something like CFA/ACCA/ACA etc. I recently graduated from university so I may consider doing the CFA afterwards if I feel it might be necessary. I say this because theres quite abit of calculation of the financial statements, cashflow modelling and ratio calculations which CFA seems to focus on and FRM does not. But having a whole section for credit risk surely gives it some credentials. I only see CFA as a required qualification (if any) for positions within the big 3 CRA's.

Thanks in advance!

 

[MariusE]

The way I see it:

CRA’s: FRM very useful if you rate Financial Institutions, especially banks.
You will absolutely assess risks (credit, market, operational) plus the part of regulatory capital, Tier 1 Capital, Total Capital ratio. On the other hand, if you want to be a Sovereign analyst you may benefit from the Macroeconomics part from the part 1 of the CFA.

Now, what I can think right now is that both FRM and CFA have some overlap as it concerns the derivatives part, very useful in rating a financial institution.
In the CFA curriculum there is also a financial statement analysis part, but general, not particularly adapted for banks, that could help you understand some accounting concepts.

In conclusion, if you want to become a complete financial analyst you may want to pursue both FRM and CFA; the order is what everyone should chose based on his/her priorities.

P.S.: CFA I think it’s very useful also for asset managers & investment bankers.

Marius

 

[-MaNi-]

Cheers for the sound reply! Really informative

Seeing as I've already started FRM I'll keep to it. Plus, the syllabus is more interesting to me than CFA

Thanks again